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From boozy bundles to selections of British cheese, give the gift of indulgence with a hamper
There’s nothing quite as exciting as opening a gorgeously presented hamper packed with delicious food and drink, no matter the occasion. So, we have gathered some of the best options around, with a variety of themes and across a range of budgets, so you can find the perfect treat.
There are small hampers ideal for a bit of me-time while binging Netflix; there are hampers that will thrill your host if you’re heading for a dinner party, and there are giant hampers packed with everything you need for a get-together, whether sharing with friends or the whole family.
The hampers come in all shapes and sizes, from a bundle that will create the perfect cosy cheese and wine evening to a basket filled with larder goodies, or boxes packed full of wine or cocktails to crack open on a picnic.
Whether you’re sending a hamper as a gift or picking one for yourself, we’ve rounded up the top food and drink hampers this year.
We are constantly sampling boxes and hampers packed with delicious food and drink – it’s exhausting work – to bring you our final thoughts on some of the best hampers available. We looked at how many products each hamper holds and, of course, the quality of the contents. We also highlight seasonal food and drink hampers that will help make the most of any occasion.
An IndyBest favourite, Snowdonia Cheese Company’s hampers are great for lots of occasions and this one is perfect for a festive cheese and wine night. There are three cheddars – one truffled, one extra mature and a rich cave-aged cheese – with a trio of chutneys that pair beautifully with each one. The rhubarb and gin chutney was a highlight for us, which tasted sweet yet tangy. And there were even some rich chocolate truffles to nibble afterwards.
Packed with a selection of Ottolenghi’s flavour-filled goodies, there’s a good variety of sweet and savoury treats. Standouts include fiendishly moreish rosemary spiced nuts, cheddar and pistachio biscuits (we’d recommend topping with the included chilli and coriander chutney), and cranberry and oat biscuits. We also had to be pried away from the lebkuchen amaretti, which are sure to be a crowd-pleaser at your next Christmas party. As for the panettone, it arrived beautifully wrapped and is soft, fruity and delicious – it’s sure to be the highlight of the Boxing Day table.
Mouse & Grape is making some of the most stylish hampers, pairing cheese and wine wonderfully. You can build your own hamper on the website, selecting cheeses, from Stilton to truffled brie to be paired with fruity beaujolais or pale rosé.
The port and fine red wine hamper is basically a chic cheese board packaged in a box, making it the perfect thing to take with you if you’re attending someone’s house this Christmas.
Inside you’ll find a wonderfully aged 2005 vintage port with deep notes of chocolate and red fruits, plus a smooth northeast Italian red wine with delicious cherry notes, which pair beautifully with the four hand-picked cheeses – soft and light taleggio, nutty comte, baron bigod (our favourite) and stilton are delicious drizzled with honey and layered on crackers.
Nestled in the Sussex countryside is the Rathfinny Estate, a 50-acre vineyard owned by a husband and wife duo producing English sparkling wine. A bottle of the estate’s 2019 vintage classic cuvée is at the centre of this small hamper, a great little gift to send as a thank you or season’s greetings as the year draws to a close.
The cuvée itself, chic bottle aside, is light with fresh citrus and apple notes and will go perfectly with Christmas morning smoked salmon breakfast. The snacks that come in the treat box are similarly moreish, particularly the caramelised sesame peanuts by Cambrook and classic Perello olives.
An ingenious way to conduct wine tasting at home, the Reserve Wines blind tasting box is a great dinner party activity or date night idea. Three mystery bottles of wine will be delivered with information and tasting notes for each bottle. The twist being that you have to guess which bottle matches the descriptions.
We tasted three delicious wines, one floral with vanilla and peach notes, another dry with grapefruit notes and one with acidy lemon. We loved the tasting game and the anticipation of full glasses once the guessing was over. Choose white, red or “fancy” red at-home tasting bundles.
Iconic French macaron maker Ladurée has launched its hamper and gift box range, with beautifully packaged boxes tied with pink and green ribbons and overflowing with sweet treats to have a Marie Antoinette-style tea party.
In the imperial hamper, there is a box of 12 of the brand’s classic macarons – we adored the raspberry, vanilla and pistachio, plus more chocolate treats like milk chocolate coated candied lemon, a box of six Eugénie which are chocolate-coated shortbread biscuits in a variety of flavours with a melting heart centre. We loved pairing the sweet treats with the fabulous Earl Grey tea.
Some of the best bacon we’ve had plus herbed farmhouse sausages have been paired with soft white rolls as the stars of the signature match day breakfast hamper from Imp & Maker. A great way to treat the football fan in your life or to enjoy with friends while watching the game.
Drizzle on the Tracklements tomato sauce for the perfect breakfast roll. Other salty and savoury snacks include exceedingly moreish smoked chilli snacks from Belazu and Savoursmiths salt and vinegar crisps that make the Noam beer sing. Four lagers are included in this hamper from the Berlin-based brewers: they’re super refreshing and light, nicely rounding off the feast.
Customise your own mini cocktail party with Edmunds’ mix and match cocktail box. The website is easy to navigate with the option of six, 12 or 24 cocktails - each 100ml - to choose from. We selected a box with one each of the following cocktails: strawberry daiquiri, lychee martini, elderflower collins, cosmopolitan, kumquat margarita and amaretto sour.
With many cocktails garnering well-earned awards, we personally were crazy for the amaretto sour and kumquat margarita, but all were delicious. Simply shake with ice and serve with the garnish provided. At £34.95 for six, that works out as under £6 per cocktail, and you save 10 per cent if you subscribe.
Meat specialists at Dukes Hill have created this dine in hamper fillet steaks, sticky toffee pudding and red wine. Impress your beau or bestie with a date night spread.
The steaks were tender and delicious when cooked medium rare and slathered with bearnaise sauce. The smoked salmon and cream cheese pate with crackers for dipping was very moreish. For dessert a sticky toffee pudding was perfect. Steak and red wine are a match made in heaven and this bottle of malbec was perfect.
With six expertly selected bottles of wine – a champagne, a rosé, two whites and two reds – this hamper is a great choice if you’re hosting drinks with friends.
The celebratory champagne is aged for five years and is the perfect way to welcome people into your home. The light Cotes de Provence rosé, served as chilled as possible, was a particular favourite with our testing party. The Inama Carmenere Piu wins the award for prettiest bottle and has deep fruity and spicy notes of plum and cassis – perfection.
On The Table curates gift boxes of food and wine that are perfect for sending to loved ones over the festive season or to share with your friends and family. We tried the ultimate food lovers gift box, which includes cheeses – the bix organic soft cheese was a particular favourite – alongside a delectable charcuterie platter, plus red wine.
We liked that you can make a whole meal from the hamper: start with a cheeseboard, then rigatoni and tomato pesto pairs well with cured meats, and a glass of one of the outstanding red wines included in the box. There is an excellent Cretan olive oil for extra drizzling, too.
While the price tag is slightly steep, we still think this is a great box for the foodie in your life.
Anyone who knows Biscuiteers knows it has some of the cutest biscuits and adorable packaging around, and each gift box is really a joy to open. Inside the birthday treats box is nine meticulously iced biscuits in various shapes including balloons, a birthday cake, ice cream cone and more. The lemon biscuits pair beautifully with the bottle of Biscuiteers own-brand prosecco.
Featuring a beautiful bottle of Cygnet Welsh dry gin, this is an elegant hamper that features attractive Pempem de Choc chocolate selection, sashimi grade salmon, truffled honey and goat’s cheese.
Highlights include the Pempem de Choc chocolates, which are wonderfully colourful and intensely flavoured, the salmon which was perfect matched with the soft goat’s cheese that has a two-star great taste award. This is a lovely gift for someone who likes the finer things in life.
Ring in the season, with this lovely hamper packed with golden-toned goodies and tied with a golden bow. Based in the Cotswolds, Regency Hampers has a wide variety of gift baskets but this is a great, well-rounded hamper with lots of festive wines.
Pairing savoury snacks such as olives, crisps and cheese twists with chocolates and a golden Christmas pudding (which was rich and fruity and perfect with custard), this hamper is a crowd-pleaser. The smoked salmon, olives and cheeses (the brie was our favourite) make a great cheeseboard paired with the rich, fruity port.
Sharpham Dairy is a Devon-based cheese producer and has been an IndyBest favourite for years, owing to its unbelievably delicious produce. This hamper showcases a range of cheeses, including a brie that is so meltingly soft but with a sharpness that will make you look at brie anew. The ‘ticklemore’ is a crumbly goat’s cheese that goes wonderfully on a sourdough cracker with fig and pinot noir chutney, which is sweet with a tangy ginger twist.
Great quality charcuterie, super spicy and flavourful chilli jam, olives and a fruity Christmas cake made in the heart of Devon round off the food offering. Meanwhile, an inspired elderberry and port liqueur is a sweet, fruity and very festive tipple to sip while tucking into this cheeseboard.
Embrace the joy of missing out, with the snowed in hamper from Daylesford, the perfect way to while away a festive evening. In the Cotswold farm’s signature white wicker basket, you’ll find festive nibbles, three Christmassy tipples and even a candle, to help you create a cosy ambiance.
The Daylesford prosecco is a firm favourite, thanks to its fresh taste and light bubbles, and the hamper also includes a bottle of the farm’s mulled wine and a bottle of pink pepper and plum cosmopolitan (enough for two). Chocolate-dipped lemon cookies, and soft and fruity panettone are among the highlights here.
Huffkins bakery is another Cotswolds staple, with lovely English tearooms across the west of England and London. This hamper (named after a Cotswold village) is packed with lovely treats that will see you through to the new year.
Just asking to be made into an afternoon tea with cheeseboard, this hamper includes tea, cake and biscuits plus cheeses from the Snowdonia Cheese Company. The vintage red Leicester is sharp yet creamy and excellent paired with the Bloody Mary chutney. Lovely dry pink prosecco adds a jubilant energy, and is to be enjoyed in between chocolates.
Our favourite hamper at the moment is the Snowdonia Cheese Company’s cheese and wine wicker hamper for the sheer volume of cheeses and the delicious accompaniments that come with it.
For an affordable cheeseboard option the essential Devon cheese board from Sharpham Dairy is a must for meltingly soft brie, and for an excellently curated breakfast box, try Daylesford’s signature hamper which includes a delightful apricot nectar that will quickly replace your morning orange juice.
For more great food and drink options, check out the best recipe boxes and food delivery subscriptions